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Strawberries & Cream Overnight Oats

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We’d like you to meet our new favorite breakfast, strawberries and cream overnight oats!  If you’ve been an avid follower of GTK, you are already well aware of our obsession with overnight oats.  If you are new here, and you do an overnight oat search on the blog…you’ll see just what we are talking about.  We love this simple breakfast because of how versatile it can be.  There are so many different ways to make overnight oats that the creativity is literally nonstop!!  The other great news for us is that our kids all happen to love overnight oats for breakfast (and also an afternoon snack) so that might be why we are continually experimenting with new flavor combos.  This strawberries and cream recipe happens to be another win!  If you love strawberries, you are going to want to make this one too!

Overnight oats literally take minutes to make.  They are one of the easiest ways to feel like  “I’ve prepped my meals for the week and am totally on my A Game” without spending all afternoon doing it.  Just grab a bowl, toss in the oats, the chia seeds, the almond milk (or milk of your choice), the strawberries, vanilla, maple syrup and a pinch of salt.  Stir it all up and transfer to an airtight container with a lid and pop it in the fridge.  How easy was that?  Now, when you wake up in the morning, breakfast will be ready.  It’s literally making itself while you sleep!  This is also when I turn on the Robot vacuum so that it can clean while I sleep too!!  Just sayin…I’m no fool.  Just know how to get it done!

As another time saver, I’m going to give you a link to some of our other favorite overnight oat recipes so you don’t even have to search.  In both of our houses, the apple cinnamon and the chocolate peanut butter are huge hits with the kids along with this strawberries and cream recipe!  Give them all a try.  You can have overnight oats for days….

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/apple-cinnamon-overnight-oats/

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/chocolate-peanut-butter-overnight-oats/

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/lemon-blueberry-overnight-oats/


Strawberries & Cream Overnight Oats
 
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Serves: 2 C
Ingredients
  • 1½ C rolled oats
  • 1½ C almond milk
  • 1 Tbsp chia seeds
  • 1½ Tbsp pure maple syrup
  • ¼ tsp vanilla
  • 1 C chopped strawberries
  • pinch kosher salt
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined. Transfer to an airtight container with a lid and store in the fridge for at least 6 hours before serving.
  2. Stir before eating, add additional almond milk if it needs thinning. Store in the fridge for up to one week.

Berry Bruschetta with Ricotta & Honey

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Today we are bringing you our beautiful berry bruschetta with ricotta and honey.  This appetizer is not only pretty to look at, but it also happens to be totally off the hook delicious!  Berries are in season right now which means we are always looking for new and creative ways to use them and this recipe is a top choice for sure!  It’s guaranteed to win over your crowd and is also really easy to make so, let us take a minute to show you just how quickly you can have this one on the table!  All you need is a baguette loaf of your favorite bread, a container of ricotta cheese, some blueberries, strawberries, honey and fresh mint.  Sounds easy enough right?

Start by slicing the baguette into 1/2 inch slices, lay them on a baking sheet and spray or drizzle lightly with olive oil.  Pop them into the oven to bake, turning one time so they are golden on both sides.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Once the bread is cooled, spread the ricotta evenly over each piece.  Top with the strawberries and blueberries.

Drizzle with the honey then top with a pinch of kosher salt and a fresh mint leaf.  Place on a pretty platter or plate and serve immediately.  We assure you that everyone is going to love this recipe!


Berry Bruschetta with Ricotta & Honey
 
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Serves: 10-12
Ingredients
  • 1 small baguette loaf
  • olive oil spray
  • 1 15oz container ricotta cheese
  • 1 C blueberries
  • 1 C strawberries, chopper
  • 2 tsp raw honey
  • pinch of kosher salt
  • mint leaves to garnish
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Slice bread into ½ inch slices. Lightly spray each side of bread slices with olive oil spray and line on a sheet pan. Toast in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
  3. Top each slice of toasted bread with ricotta cheese, spread evenly. Top with strawberries and blueberries. Drizzle with honey, season with a pinch of kosher salt and garnish with fresh mint leaves. Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately.

Berries & Cream Cups

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These little berries and cream cups are an absolute family favorite.  They really are a perfect frozen summer treat and also happen to be super easy to make.  We love the crust because it’s made with bran cereal and it’s actually very healthy (loaded with fiber) and the kids have no idea which is always a win in our house.  The upping of the fiber intake is still going strong around here.  We are both trying to eat more fiber because of it’s health benefits.  We won’t bore you with fiber talk but you should just know that some of it’s nutritional benefits are that it helps maintain weight, it’s excellent for your digestive system, it helps control blood sugar levels and keeps you feeling full which eliminates the desire to snack.  Okay, that’s enough…you get it.  Back to the recipe, these berries and cream cups are so fun to make.

You start by making the crust in the food processor.  Simply pulse up the bran until broken down, add in the coconut flakes and almonds and pulse some more.  Then you get to add in the dates, cinnamon, coconut oil and vanilla.  Spoon the crust mixture into the lined muffin tins, pop them into the freezer to set and get going on the cream mixture.

Add the cream cheese and Greek yogurt to a bowl and blend them together with a hand mixer.  Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until blended.  Then add in the chopped strawberries and blend until incorporated into the yogurt mixture.

Take the muffin tins out of the freezer and fill with the strawberry mixture.  Top with fresh berries and place back into the freezer to set for at least 2 hours.  You are going to love these sweet little treats!!  They don’t last long in our house.


Berries & Cream Cups
 
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Serves: 10
Ingredients
For the Crust:
  • 1 C. original All-Bran cereal (or other bran buds cereal)
  • ½ C unsweetened coconut flakes
  • ½ C raw almonds
  • 8 medjool dates, pitted
  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • kosher salt to taste
For the Berries & Cream:
  • 8oz cream cheese
  • 1 C 0% greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 C powdered sugar
  • 1 C strawberries, chopped
  • 4 strawberries sliced
  • ½ C blueberries
Instructions
  1. Add bran to a food processor and pulse until broken down. Add coconut flakes and almonds and pulse again until broken down. Add dates, cinnamon, coconut oil and vanilla. Let the food processor run on high speed until all ingredients are completely broken down. Add a pinch of kosher salt and pulse until combined.
  2. Remove from food processor and transfer to a bowl.
  3. Line 10 muffin liners in a muffin tin. Press approx 2 Tbsp of crust firmly into the base of each muffin liner. Transfer to the freezer.
  4. Add cream cheese and greek yogurt to a bowl, blend with a hand mixer. Add vanilla and powdered sugar and blend until mixed. Add chopped strawberries and blend until broken down and mixed into filling.
  5. Remove muffin tin from the freezer. Top strawberry filling equally into muffin liners. Top with sliced strawberries and blueberries. Return to freezer to allow to set for at least 2 hours. Once frozen they are ready to serve.

Yogurt Berry Cups

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These yogurt berry cups are everything!!  If you are looking for the world’s most delicious, healthy and beyond easy dessert, well, look no further because we literally have it for you today!  I seem a little overly fired up about these guys, however, if you take the time to make them, then you will understand why.  Seriously though, we are always working on coming up with fun new ideas so that you will have fun in the kitchen and make recipes that are totally worth repeating.  Well…we’ve got a repeater!  There are very few ingredients in these yogurt berry cups and they are also quite versatile.  We used strawberries and blueberries for this one but there’s no reason you couldn’t enjoy them with your other favorite fruits. Peach or mango would be awesome too.  Oh no, it’s happening again, the wheels are spinning!!

The other great news about this fun recipe is that the crust is made with bran.  We are on a serious fiber kick right now given all of the health benefits of incorporating fiber into your diet so…well, why not?  If it tastes good and it’s good for us, we are all in.

Using a food processor for the crust mixture, you will pulse some bran cereal, almonds, dates, coconut, coconut oil, vanilla, cinnamon and maple syrup until nicely incorporated.  Then press the mixture into your muffin tins and pop them into the freezer  to set while you work on part two.  

For part two, you will simply mix the Greek yogurt, fresh strawberries and honey in a bowl with an immersion blender.  You can also do this in a blender however, we are obsessed with our immersion blender and believe that everyone should have one in their kitchen.  Anywho, after you’ve blended up the strawberry yogurt mixture, pour it evenly into the muffin tins and top with a few fresh blueberries.

Pop it into the freezer and allow the yogurt the set up.  Once they are frozen, you can take them out and gobble them up. These guys are like popsicles so make sure you store them in the freezer.  An airtight container is perfect!  How pretty are they?? We just love when something like this happens!!


Yogurt Berry Cups
 
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Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 1 C All-Bran original cereal
  • ½ C raw almonds
  • ¼ C unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 4 medjool dates, pitted
  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
  • ¼ tsp vanilla
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • 1 C 0% greek yogurt
  • 1 C strawberries, sliced
  • 1 Tbsp raw honey
  • ½ C blueberries
Instructions
  1. Using a food processor add All Bran and pulse until broken down. Add almonds and coconut flakes and continue to pulse until broken down. Add dates, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon and pulse until completely incorporated and broken down.
  2. Place 12 muffin liners in a muffin tin. Add approx 2 Tbsp of mixture to each liner, press firmly into the liner. Place in the freezer.
  3. Add yogurt, strawberries and honey to a medium bowl. Use an immersion blender to mix yogurt into strawberries. Distribute strawberry yogurt mixture evenly into each cup. Top each yogurt cup with blueberries and transfer to the freezer to set. Once frozen move yogurt cups to an airtight tupperware container to store.

Blueberry Muffins

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Can you think of anything more delicious than a sweet blueberry muffin? Well, maybe, but not right now because the smell that’s coming from my oven is seriously so good.  I’ve got a batch of these yummy sweet muffins going and I can’t wait to eat one!  The kids are going to be so excited after school today! The best part is that this recipe is really easy to make.  You can use fresh blueberries or frozen ones if you don’t have any fresh one’s on hand.

Start by preheating you oven to 350.  You will need 2 bowls so you can mix all the dry ingredients on one and the wet in the other. In one bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Then, in the other bowl, combine the melted butter, egg and egg yolk and the buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until combined.  Then gently fold in the blueberries.

Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and fill them up to the top.  Sprinkle the tops with the raw sugar.  This sugar works better for baking because it stays in it’s pretty crunchy form and doesn’t melt.  The crunchy sugary tops are the best part of a muffin right?  Who doesn’t love a muffin top??  ha

Anyway, pop these guys into the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until cooked through.  Like I said, the house will smell amazing and everyone is going to be so happy!!  Store in an airtight container to enjoy during the week…they are great to pack in the kids lunches too!  Hope you enjoy!!

Check out some of our other favorite muffin recipes:

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/lemon-poppyseed-muffins/

Carrot Apple Zucchini Muffins


Blueberry Muffins
 
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Serves: 18
Ingredients
  • 2½ C flour
  • 1 C sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ¾ tsp kosher salt
  • 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, beaten
  • 1½ C buttermilk
  • 2 C blueberries - fresh or frozen
  • 3 Tbsp turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a medium bowl add all of the dry ingredients except for the turbinado sugar. Mix thoroughly.
  3. In a separate bowl add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.
  4. Slowly pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, gently mix until blended with a fork. Add blueberries and carefully fold in with a spatula.
  5. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners. Fill each liner until almost full with batter. Sprinkle turbinado sugar on top of each muffin.
  6. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.

Yogurt, Granola, Berry Parfaits

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Sometimes I just want a really pretty breakfast and these yogurt, granola, berry parfaits are the perfect solution.  First of all, they are beyond simple to make and secondly, they are super delicious.  These parfaits are perfect for entertaining as well.  Think, wedding or baby shower, brunch with friends, holiday guests staying at your home.  The list goes on and on…but basically, we are just saying that you can serve something as simple as a yogurt, granola and berry parfait and look like a total rock star!  You can go as far as making the yogurt and granola homemade (we happen to have a delicious recipe for homemade granola right here at GTK) but you can also skip the making it yourself process and buy the ingredients for a time saver!

If you want to make your own granola, you are in luck.  We love our homemade GTK granola.  Double the batch so you have plenty to last you thought the week!

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/homemade-granola/

 

Yogurt, Granola, Berry Parfaits
 
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Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 2 C 0% Greek yogurt or yogurt of choice
  • 1 C granola
  • 2 C berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)
Instructions
  1. Spoon 1 C of yogurt into 2 cups , divided. Top with ½ C granola and 1 C berries, divided. Repeat to make a second layer. Serve immediately
** Can also add granola forst followed by yogurt and berries if desired.

 

Summer Berry Salad – Deconstructed

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Halloumi who?? That’s what we said the first time we heard about this special cheese that you can actually grill. How cool is that?  A cheese that you can throw on the bbq or an indoor grill that turns the perfect shade of golden brown, becomes nice and soft on the inside and doesn’t melt all over the place.  We knew we had to come up with a fun recipe using this awesome cheese…so we did!  Introducing 4th of July on a stick! We thought we would serve this simple salad deconstructed with fresh berries and grilled halloumi cheese on a skewer to showcase the red, white and blue color scheme we have going on. Also because anything on a skewer is just fun to eat and it looks really cute on a bed of mixed greens.

Stych Photography

We have been waiting for the perfect salad to drizzle our amazing creamy poppyseed dressing all over and this salad happens to scream poppyseed dressing so that’s what it got. Just add some toasted pecans and top with the adorable berry and cheese skewers, drizzle the poppyseed dressing over the top and you will look like Martha Stewart serving this up! Any excuse to look like a pro with very little effort is pretty amazing.  Side note- Halloumi cheese is seasonal to late spring/summer typically, they do sell it at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.  If for some reason you can’t find halloumi cheese you can use feta cheese instead.  Simply cut feta into large chunks, skip the grill and thread the feta on skewers in place of the halloumi cheese for an easy substitute.

Stych Photography

Summer Berry Salad - Deconstructed
 
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Serves: 6
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 6 Cups mixed spring greens
  • ½ cup toasted pecans
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 1 cup strawberries - halved
  • 1 7oz. package Halloumi grilling cheese
  • small bamboo or like skewer sticks
For the Poppyseed Dressing:
  • ½ tsp dijon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp 0% Greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp poppyseeds
  • 3 Tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
For the Salad:
  1. Heat a small grill pan over medium-high heat. Add halloumi cheese, cook each side about 2 minutes until golden brown.
  2. Cut cheese into large chunks. Use bamboo skewers and thread a strawberry, a chunk of halloumi cheese and two blueberries. Repeat until desired amount of skewers are made.
  3. Plate mixed greens, top with candied pecans and add one or two skewers on top of each plate.
For the Poppyseed Dressing:
  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk.
  2. Drizzle over salad - store remaining dressing in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
**If you can't find halloumi cheese you can substitute for large chunks of feta cheese. Don't grill the feta, just thread on the skewers in place of the halloumi cheese instead.

Berry White Sangria

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We are all about having a signature drink for a holiday get together, or for any get together for that matter.  Since the 4th of July is right around the corner, we wouldn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to concoct a festive signature drink like this berry white sangria.  Red, white and blue is the obvious theme with this one and we are loving these American flag straws we scored at Target to add a little extra holiday touch.

If you like coconut vodka, prosecco and fresh berries then you will looooove this drink!   Serve it up chilled over ice, just know it will go fast so make sure to have backup on hand so you don’t leave your guests thirsty.  Nobody wants to be thirsty at a 4th of July party, right?! Oh, and an added bonus is that the fireworks will be looking extra amazing after a few of these!!

Stych Photography

Berry White Sangria
 
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Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • 1 bottle (750 ml) Prosecco
  • 2½ C white cranberry or white peach juice
  • ⅔ C coconut vodka
  • ⅓ C blueberries
  • ⅓ C strawberries, chopped
  • ⅓ C blackberries
  • ⅓ C raspberries
  • 2-3 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped
Instructions
  1. Mix all ingredients together in a large pitcher. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Serve over ice.

Cream Cheese Tarts with Fresh Strawberries

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You are looking at one of the easiest desserts on the planet but shhhh….don’t tell anyone!  Make them think that you slaved away all day in the kitchen.  These cream cheese tarts (which can also be made in a pie dish and served as slices) are sure to score BIG points with your Valentine, and anyone else that gets their hands on them. The good news is that aside from quickly browning up the graham cracker crust in the oven, the rest of the dessert is no-bake. Now that’s my kind of dessert!!

You can change up the topping with your choice of berries, we love using a mix of raspberries and blueberries as well.  Use whatever you prefer, or happen to have in the fridge!! These are great as a make ahead dessert as well for entertaining.  Throw this dessert together in the morning and store them in the refrigerator without the berries.   When you’re ready to dig in, top with fresh berries and a sprinkle of powdered sugar if you’re really feeling fancy and serve.

 

Cream Cheese Tarts with Fresh Strawberries
 
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Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 12 muffin liners
  • 1¼ C Honeymaid graham cracker crumbs
  • ¼ C sugar
  • 5 tbsp butter, melted
  • 1 C heavy whipping cream
  • 1 C powdered sugar
  • 1 C cream cheese, softened
  • 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar together in a bowl. Line a cupcake pan with liners. Add a heaping tbsp of graham cracker mixture into each muffin liner, distributing evenly. Press the graham cracker mixture on the bottom and around the sides of the liner. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Set aside to cool
  2. Using a cuisinart mixer or a hand mixer, beat whip cream until it begins to thicken. Add cream cheese and vanilla and beat for an additional 30 seconds. Slowly add in powdered sugar and continue to beat until mixture thickens and forms peaks. Fill muffin liners to the top. Refrigerator at least 2 hours or until ready to serve. Serve with fresh berries of choice on top.
Good Thyme Tip - This can also be made into a pie instead. Just use a glass pie dish and bake the crust in the pie dish. Fill the crust with the cream cheese filling and refrigerate.

Vanilla Cashew Yogurt

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Looking for an alternative to yogurt or Greek yogurt?  This vanilla cashew yogurt hits the mark, it’s protein packed and low in sugar and it’s the perfect option for those of you out there that are dairy-free.

The most important thing with this recipe is to soak the cashews in water overnight, once that is done it only takes 5 minutes until you are in cashew yogurt heaven. This is as addicting and delicious as it looks, I kept going back for just one more bite and before I knew it somehow it suddenly disappeared. I hate it when that happens! It’s amazing mixed with fresh berries, topped with granola or of course on it’s own. Whether you are dairy-free or not, it’s definitely something that you need in your life. Let us know what you think!

cashewyogurt

Vanilla Cashew Yogurt
 
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Serves: 1¼ Cups
Ingredients
  • 1 C raw, unsalted cashews - (soaked in water for 8 hours or overnight. Discard water before using in recipe)
  • 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • ⅓ C cinnamon applesauce - can also use plain
  • ⅓ C unsweetened cashew or almond milk
  • 2 Tbsp good quality pure maple syrup
  • ½ tap vanilla
  • pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
  1. Add all ingredients to a blender. Stop and scrape down sides as you go. Blend until smooth. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Good Thyme Tip - This yogurt is great over fresh fruit or anything you would normally serve with yogurt. Use additional cashew milk to thin out to desired consistency.
**Adapted from Dreena Burton at Plant-Powered Kitchen